I don't think you can* paint PhDs with such a broad brush. It largely depends on their field of expertise. A (say) complexity theory PhD is indeed unlikely to be out of touch with reality, but a systems-oriented one is likely to have a pretty decent knowledge of practical aspects of programming.
Being a PhD student myself, I am of course biased on this. But it's frustrating to be generalized as an out-of-touch ivory tower type when that is simply not the case.
I'm sure there are plenty of PhDs that are good developers, but in my experience that is in spite of rather than as a result of their degree.
After having interviewed thousands of candidates over 15 years, if I see a tilde in your URL on your resume, I'm immediately a little bit less interested.
Being a PhD student myself, I am of course biased on this. But it's frustrating to be generalized as an out-of-touch ivory tower type when that is simply not the case.
* Of course you can. But should you?